Cruise Passengers Upset With Carnival

Ship Was Delayed At Beginning, End Of Trip Because Of Rough Seas, High Tides

From the moment Marla Dietrich boarded the Carnival cruise ship Fascination in Jacksonville, she worried her four-day trip to the Bahamas with 18 friends would be less than relaxing.

"It started out bad. It started out bad," Dietrich said.

She said the ship was delayed due to high tides and was stuck in Jacksonville for hours before starting to cruise south.

A day later, Dietrich said, it only got worse when severe weather began tossing the ship around, changing its course and preventing passengers from stopping at one of its intended ports.

"You were just like rolling out of your bed, stuff was falling in your rooms, you couldn't take showers because you couldn't hold on," Dietrich said.

High tides also delayed the ship for hours in returning to port Monday because it couldn't pass under the Dames Point Bridge.

Dietrich and other passengers contacting Channel 4 through Facebook by posting pictures of the cruise are not upset Mother Nature created a rocky path, but are more concered with Carnival's customer service.

"Just an, 'I'm sorry and I'm sorry.' That's all they offered, and they said that that's all that they would be offering to anyone," Dietrich said.

Back on land, some passengers are still upset, saying they'll never cruise with Carnival again. But that also means they won't set sail from Jacksonville anytime soon because Carnival is the only cruiseline available in the River City.

"I mean, we had nothing to do," passenger Shane Griffin said. "You could only eat and drink so much before it's just not enjoyable."

Passengers like Griffin feel the cruise was like throwing cash away because they were stranded on board, angry about the several-hour delays at the beginning and end of the trip.

The cruiseline says it doesn't issue refunds. It issued this statement:

"Unforunately, the weather can sometimes cause uncomfortable conditions, and we sincerely apologize to our guests for any discomfort they may have experienced."

For many passengers, that's not enough.

"I won't cruise again," Griffin said. "I'll just go down to the Florida Keys and just spend my money in the Florida Keys."

Passengers said that while Carvinal does not issue refunds, they did receive about $1 back from a tax at a port at which they never stopped.

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